Sama Sama to provide more household toilets

About 300,000 people in the three northern regions are to be provided with household toilets by 2020 under a sanitation project known as 'Sama Sama'.

The project, which is being undertaken by an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), iDE Ghana, is part of the national efforts to eliminate open defecation in the country. 

With support from the Global Affairs Canada, iDE Ghana, through its Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Marketing in Northern Ghana project (RuSHing), established the Sama Sama to provide a complete solution for households looking to build a toilet.

The Sama Sama, which started operations in 2016 with a pilot project in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality in the Northern Region, now serves 10 districts in the Northern and Upper East regions where it has provided improved toilet facilities to over 600 households.

The pour flush toilet which the project produces for its clients is said to prevent certain diseases caused by many of the lower quality pit latrines on the markets.

The project has also created job opportunities for many people through the sanitation market approach. For instance, some artisans who were into concrete products manufacturing have been trained as Toilet Business Owners (TBOs) and are now into the installation of the improved toilet facility for homes.

PAC meeting

Last Thursday, a project advisory committee (PAC) meeting was held by iDE in Tamale to engage government actors and establish a dialogue on the potential marketing in the sanitation sector while enhancing a sustained interest from Ghana’s public sector by sharing experiences learnt from their market-based approach.

At the meeting, the Director of Sanitation at the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Mr Anthony Mensah, commended the iDE for its Sama Sama initiative, which seeks to support the national efforts to eliminate open defecation in Ghana.

He noted that the level of open defecation in the country was unacceptable although a national campaign to make Ghana open defecation free was ongoing.

The Director, Waste Management, at the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) who represented the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) also pledged the support of the assembly to the project to help eliminate open defecation in the three regions of the north.

The Country Director of iDE, Ghana, Mr Brian Kiger, said his outfit would continue to collaborate with the public and the private sector to help address the sanitation challenges faced by Ghana.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Director for Sama Sama, Ms Valerie Labi, said Sama Sama would continue to work with stakeholders in the sanitation sector to meet the set target for the project.